On Tuesday, July 25, Marion Police officers responded to 595 East Court Street for a welfare check after family members outside the residence called with concern that they could not reach 34-year-old Casie Lynn McCartha, the primary caretaker of her younger sister, 27-year-old Kristen Rutherford. Rutherford had cerebral palsy and required 24 hour care.
When the Marion police knocked on the residence, there was no response. Knowing that Rutherford needed care, they searched the house until they were able to find an unlocked window. They went into the home and found Rutherford deceased. The caregiver, Casie Lynn McCartha was not able to be located until Thursday, July 27th when she was found at the Best Western Hotel on Tunnel Road in Asheville and taken into custody with the help of the Asheville Police Department.
McCartha is charged with concealing the death of a person and is being held in the McDowell County jail under a $10,000 bond. McCartha’s 3-year-old juvenile daughter was in her custody and was unharmed.
